Age is such a fascinating thing. It seems to be the topic of discussion more and more in the media. The great emphasis, especially in the commercial industry, is to “fight off” aging ( as if one could actually “win” against the inevitable forces of nature)
The focus is on “youthfulness” and “turning back the clock” or reversing the ravages of time. Unfortunately, because we tend to be “mesmerized by the media” so many of us “buy into” the hype that “new is good…old is bad”. When actually nothing could be further from the truth. Nature has taught us this so well. If you pluck a peach from the tree when it reaches full size, tell me if it taste as sweet as the one left on the tree, for days later, maybe even weeks, to soak up the sun, change color and gently fall into your hand when you lift up on it. Talk to a cheese connoisseur and see if he or she would prefer a piece of cheese freshly made or one that has been allowed to “age”. We’ve all heard the adage “aging like fine wine”. In the orient, which can, and has, taught us much, aging is revered, not only in nature, but in humans…and most specifically, especially in humans.
Somehow in western thinking, where we tend to be more susceptible to “hype” we have “bought into” the concept that “aging” is a negative thing and must be avoided at any cost. And yet deep within our core we KNOW that it just isn’t so.
Ask any eighth grader, if he or she thinks he/she is smarter than a fifth grader. Ask any student in high school if he/she is smarter that someone in elementary school. On up the ladder we could go. Ask anyone if they think they are smarter now than they were last year. Truth is, “How could it not be so?” Every day of our life as we are experiencing we are learning. The wonderful thing about this is that it’s an automatic process. So we can go forward, resisting, kicking and screaming or we can embrace each new day and knowing that we have unlimited potential enjoy it to the fullest. One of the best quotes regarding “living life to the fullest” is attributed to Mae West, who supposedly said, “I’d rather wear out…than rust out !!” I have a great lady friend who I’m sure is well up there in years, but when anyone asks her age, she comments, “My age is none of my business!”
As for me, early on I decided to divide my life into quarters. Thirty years per quarter. I am now in my third quarter and loving every moment of it. As I tell my students, “We are ALL growing older…children are growing older, minute by minute. It is a fact of life that we are growing older, but we don’t ever have to grow “OLD” . Being “old” is not a fact of life, it is a “perception of the mind”. And as the Sages throughout history have taught us…”Change your thinking…change your life” Bottom line ? You are indeed grower older, how wonderful life is.